If you run a small or mid-sized business, you know the daily grind of juggling sales orders, invoices, vendor payments, and endless spreadsheets. It can feel like there’s never enough time in the day to get through it all. Even with a solid ERP system like Business Central, sometimes it still feels like we’re doing too much manual work.

But what if I told you that Microsoft is bringing AI right into Business Central to handle some of the heavy lifting? Imagine a world where your system can prioritize your sales orders, flag invoices that need attention, or even suggest the best way to manage payables—all automatically. That world is here, and it’s happening now with AI agents in Business Central.

Let me walk you through what this means for SMBs like yours and why it’s something you’ll want to pay attention to.

What Are AI Agents in Business Central?

At its core, an AI agent is like a smart assistant living inside your ERP system. Think of it as someone who knows the ins and outs of your business data and can make helpful suggestions—or even take actions under your direction.

In Business Central you now have two big-deal agents:

• Sales Order Agent: This agent automates the process of capturing sales orders from customer emails: it receives item requests, identifies the customer, drafts the sales quote with requested items, checks item availability and then converts it into a sales order.
• Payables Agent: This one handles vendor invoices—monitoring mailboxes for incoming vendor invoices, using AI to analyze the invoice content, draft purchase invoices for review, and

It’s like having an extra set of hands—one that never sleeps and never misses a detail.

Why SMBs Should Care About AI in Business Central

You might be thinking, “This sounds great, but I don’t have the budget or staff for fancy AI.” That’s the beauty of it—these agents are built into Business Central with very specific business-process automation in mind.

Here’s what SMBs can gain:

• Time Savings: Your finance or operations team spends hours manually checking and processing orders or invoices each week. With agents doing the routine steps automatically, you free up time for higher-value work.

 

• Reduced Errors: Manual entry, missed fields, mismatched vendors or items—these are all opportunities for These agents reduce that risk because they follow defined workflows, extract key data, and operate with the structure.
• Better Decisions / Efficiency: For example, with the Sales Order Agent you can speed up the quote- to-order process, ensuring your best customers are prioritized. And with the Payables Agent, you manage vendor invoices more rapidly—improving your cash-flow and vendor relationships.

Honestly, when I first saw these agents in action, I couldn’t help but think about how many hours I wasted early in my career chasing paper trails that could have been automated. I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. Can you think of a task in your business that eats up hours every week but doesn’t really require your personal judgement? That’s exactly the kind of task these AI agents are designed to handle.

A Day in the Life With AI Agents

Let’s picture a typical SMB day using Business Central with these agents:

Morning: Your finance manager logs in, and the Payables Agent has already processed new vendor invoices into draft form—it flags just the ones that need review. Instead of digging through emails and spreadsheets, she clicks to approve and the system handles the next steps.

Midday: Your sales team checks in: the Sales Order Agent has captured new customer requests coming through email, drafted quotes, and identified potential bottlenecks like item availability or inventory issues. They now have a short list of high-priority orders to act on.

Afternoon: You review your dashboards and see fewer manual bottlenecks, faster order processing, fewer invoice delays. You feel confident nothing is slipping through the cracks—and your team can focus on strategy, not firefighting.

Doesn’t that sound like a stress-free day compared to the usual chaos?

Implementation: Tips and Challenges

Of course, no technology is magic, and these agents do require some preparation and attention. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Clean Data Is Key AI works best when your data is accurate and well-structured. For example, the Sales Order Agent’s performance depends on how good your item descriptions and attributes are for matching a customer request.

2. Configure Carefully Both agents require setup: for example, the Payables Agent requires you to monitor a designated mailbox and set up permissions.

3. Train Your Team Even though the AI handles a lot, your team still needs to know how to review, intervene, and guide exceptions. That human oversight remains important.

 

4. Start Small You don’t need to automate everything at Maybe start with vendor invoice processing, measure results, then expand. This makes adoption smoother and builds confidence.

5. Monitor and Adjust Keep an eye on how the agents are performing: Are they correctly identifying vendors, items, and drafts? Make tweaks as needed. Transparency and permissions control remain important to ensure smooth operation.

The Bigger Picture: Why SMBs Are Turning to AI

Here’s a personal insight: small businesses often think AI is only for big corporations with massive budgets

—and that’s a misconception. In fact, AI is even more valuable for SMBs because every hour saved has a bigger impact for a smaller team.

Think about it. If your team can save ten hours a week thanks to automation, that’s time they can spend on customer relationships, strategy, or new business. Bigger companies might see the same efficiency gain diluted across dozens of teams—but for an SMB, it’s a game-changer.

AI agents also help level the playing field. You don’t need a massive staff or complicated systems to compete with bigger players. With automation handling repetitive tasks, SMBs can focus on what truly matters—delivering value to customers.

Looking Ahead: The Future of SMB Automation

The AI agents we see today are just the beginning. In the next few years, expect bigger, smarter integrations:

• More intelligent recommendations that anticipate business needs before they even
• Deeper integration with other tools like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Power Platform,
• AI agents that learn from your business patterns, not just generic

The key question is: Are SMBs ready to embrace this shift? Automation doesn’t replace human judgment—it enhances it. But it does require an openness to change, a willingness to trust new tools, and the foresight to plan business processes around AI capabilities.

Here’s another question to think about: What could your team accomplish if all the repetitive tasks were handled automatically? How would your day change?

My Take: Why You Should Care Now

From my perspective, the businesses that adopt AI agents early will have a serious advantage. It’s not just about saving time—it’s about making better decisions faster, freeing your team for higher-value work, and staying competitive in a fast-moving market.

I’ve seen SMBs struggle because they’re stuck in manual processes—even though the technology exists to make life easier. And with the Sales Order and Payables agents in Business Central, you don’t have to wait for next year or “the future.” It’s here now, and ready to help.

 

Conclusion: Take the Next Step

So, where do you go from here?

• Start exploring AI agents in Business Central today. Look at your sales-order and payables processes and pinpoint the most repetitive tasks that take up big chunks of
• Talk to your team about gradual Choose one process to automate, track the results, then expand.
• Keep The technology will evolve, and the more comfortable you are now, the better positioned you’ll be for future automation.

If you’re curious or want guidance on getting started, reach out. Our team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. can help you explore how AI agents can transform your business operations and streamline processes. Trust me

—it’s worth taking the step now instead of waiting.

Automation is no longer a luxury for SMBs—it’s the future. And with the AI agents in Business Central, that future is within reach today.